Hepatitis C: From inflammatory pathogenesis to anti-inflammatory/hepatoprotective therapy

Figure 2 Inflammatory cascade responses in the hepatic microenvironment. Crosstalk among parenchymal cells (hepatocytes), non-parenchymal liver cells (Kupffer cells and hepatic stellate cells) and recruited immune cells (macrophages, mast cells, dendritic cells and natural killer cells) plus hepatitis C virus replication in the hepatic microenvironment mediates inflammatory cascade signalling and exacerbates liver injury and disease progression. HSC: Hepatic stellate cells; NK: Natural killer; HCV: Hepatitis C virus.